Speak Now
by written-at-summer-sunset
Summary: Gabe Duncan: is marrying the wrong person and about to make the worst decision of his life. Jo Keener: is freaking out and racing against the clock to stop him before it's too late. Song fic to Taylor Swift's Speak Now.


**I'd been listening to Taylor Swift and reading some Tawnico fanfics on the Sonny with a Chance archive and came up with this idea. It just kinda popped up in my head so I can't tell you much about it except that it's probably gonna be one of the best song fics I've ever written.**

**I'm not gonna put the lyrics, but I do recommend listening to the song while you read it. That's what I do when I read these types of song fics.**

* * *

An eighteen year-old Jo Keener sighs and falls back onto her bed. A flimsy piece of peach colored paper rests on her stomach as her hard brown eyes star up at the ceiling. The fancy printed words are imprinted in her mind, swimming in her vision as constant torment.

_**You are invited to the wedding of Gabriel Duncan & Sophia Walter!**_

_**Date: July thirteenth, two thousand and seventeen**_

_**Time: three o'clock**_

_**Where: Golden Palace Hotel garden**_

_**And please remember to wear pastel and former wear.**_

Jo knows that Gabe had no say in this whatsoever. She remembers from when they were best friends-a time when the world was at balance-which he hated tuxes and never understood why people had to all dressed up to celebrate something. And quite frankly, looking up at the blank ceiling for answers that weren't there, Jo finds her thoughts thinking the exact same thing.

As she was about to close her eyes and block out the world, her Andriod rings and chimes annoyingly. (Note to self: change ringtone.) Jo groans but props her body up halfway and glances at the caller ID: Teddy D.

She grins and grabs for her phone, answering almost immediately. Jo may have cut off from Gabe (or he cut himself from her, and not willingly she assumes), but she had always liked Teddy and the older seemed to take a liking to her, so the two kept in touch and updated each other frequently.

"Hello?" the brunette says, trying to hide her depression. But she knows it's no use; the second oldest Duncan can read her like an open book. "What's up?"

"Are you coming or not?" the blond asks. Her voice is worried and light like always. "The wedding's gonna start in twenty minutes. It'd help if you were here." Jo smiles at her friends words but isn't persuaded much. She tries imagine what Teddy looked like at the moment: IPhone being pressed against her ear while she twirls a lock of hair in that nervous habit of hers. Jo's seen her friend like that many times-obsessing when Spencer isn't home from work on time, Ivy being late for a well planned (and very much needed at times) shopping session at the mall-that it isn't hard to picture.

"Why should I come, anyway? Who will notice if I'm there or not? It's not like I'm the freaking star of the show or something."

"I think Gabe would like you here." Teddy knows she's egging her on; trying to convince her that the youngest Duncan boy had more than platonic feelings for her. Not likely.

"You know I can't face him," Jo says stiffly, attitude wavering but still trying to stand strong. she hears a sigh on the other end. Teddy talks on, but Jo only half listens as her free hand fingers the flimsy paper with mild interest.

To go or not to go?

"I'll talk to you later," Jo says, cutting off the blond before saying her good-bye and hanging up without waiting for a response-not that she wanted one.

Her muscled arms stretch to the ceiling and straightens her torso as she stands, lazily walking over to her closet. She gives a quick glance at the invitation again-she doesn't have to, but feels in this proper situation, it's right to torture herself for being a complete idiot-before letting it flutter to the ground.

* * *

"Finally!"

Jo doesn't get a chance to mutter a proper greeting before Teddy lugs her into a her hug. Despite her reputation of hating mushy moments (hugs and kisses weren't her thing), the brunette relaxes into the twenty-one year-old's arms and gets a big whiff of her flowery scent before they let go.

Teddy's looking well, she notices. With her hair down in soft waves and the right amount of lip gloss, she still carries that supermodel look. The only thing that made Jo cringe was the ugly tan, strapless mini dress she was donning.

"Nice outfit," Jo remarks sarcastically, giving Teddy a sly smirk. Her friend just sighs.

"Sophia picked out the bridemaids' dresses," she explains, her words dripping annoyance. That's another thing Jo likes about Teddy: they hate the same people, so it makes her easier to talk to. "And apparently this is the 'wrong shade of tan'." The blond pitches her voice an octave or two higher than normal; Jo nearly gags at the mere impression of the brat's voice.

but Jo instead just nods her head and gives the garden a good look over. It really is a beautiful place for a wedding: exotic colored flowers brightening up cobblestoned pathways stretching this way and that, all leading to the very center where a majestic marble white fountain stands gaurd between two detailed stoned angels.

She's starting to regret coming at all.

"At least you look good," Teddy chirps cheerfully as they walk down a pathway with delicate rose petals covering it. Jo tries to smile. She better look good; Jo Keener doesn't wear strapless white dresses and pretty lilac cardigans for just anybody. And the painful high heel ankle boots were not helping her mood.

"Thanks," she says drily, the word just carelessly slipping off her tongue. The pair continue walking, occasionally coming to a specific plant or flower they think is pretty or different from the rest.

Teddy stops in front of a lacey white curtain stitched into a soft looking matching curtain, only thicker.. Jo nearly runs into her back and stumbles a few steps backward. She had forgotten that the hotel's garden was really just an incerdiably gigantic green house. The brunette remembers from when her mom worked as a maid in the hotel that they're was an outside part of the garden. (The advantege that she had with school getting out an hour or so earlier then when her mom got off work back then, never wore off of her.)

"Where's the Wicked Witch of the West?" Jo asks bitterly, but can already hear the faint screams coming from a small brick building yards away from the wedding set up. She instantly wishes to be back on the other side of the curtain, away from the whole set-up and face planted into her soft quilts. "Yelling at one of her slave-monkeys already?"

Teddy just turns to her friend with a grim look. "She's been going off all day. Spencer nearly backhanded her a couple times alreaady."

The brunette isn't surprised. she sees the man himself and PJ standing together in tuxes, wearing blank face. Jo knew how protective Spencer was over Teddy, even before they were married two years ago. And it didn't help that Sophia's brother had a rocky relationship with his younger sister a while back. That had been a nightmare.

"PJ's the best man," Teddy informs her, catching her look. "Spencer and Emmett are the groomsmen."

"So who's the maid of honor and the other bridemaids?" Jo asks nonchantly. She's keeping an out for anymore of the horrid dresses as she speaks.

The blond sighs, suddenly looking tired and out of energy. "Gabe convinced Sophia to let Ivy and I be bridemaids. But one of her barbie doll besties are the maid of honor-Carrie? Cathrine, maybe? I really don't know."

_Casey Yin._

Jo knows the name almost instantly. "Casey Yin," she corrects. She only remembers it because she's a part of the pink popular group she nailed with half a doze dogdeballs in gym back in middle school-Sophia inculded. "We have a type of history," Jo explains at Teddy's look.

"YOU IDIOT!" someone screeches. Teddy just heaves a sigh and roll her eyes. Jo raises an eyebrow but says nothing. "You are ruining my _DRESS_!"

"Oh God," Teddy exclaims, annoyed. Jo shoots her a look before dashing off. She slips past people with mumbled excuses before stopping at the corner of the building. Up closer, it's bigger than she expects it to be.

"Can't you do anything _right_?" Sophia screams, face red, eyes wide, and hands balled into fists. But Jo does everything to keep laughing. Her wedding dress was absolutely hideous. She may not be into fashion, but she can good from gross.

The corest was puffy and jeweled with big dimonds, with the skirt silky and hanging down her bony knees. Jo purses her lips, thinking of a cupcake. The veil doesn't help much, being longer than the dress itself.

Instead of doing something she will regret, the brunette peeks at Ivy who is practically foaming at the mouth from anger, holding a lent roller.

"Fine!" she cries out, throwing the lent roller to the floor, ignoring it's trip of rolling to the corner. "Do it yourself! Or better yet, have on of your clones do it, because I don't have to put up with this." And with her miniture coming to its end, Ivy storms out the door with her arms crossed and a look that can kill.

Jo presses her lips and hugs tighter to wall as Ivy passes her. The older girl glances at her but just shrugs and continues toward Teddy.

The brunette lets out a sigh of relief and continues to look at Sophia. A redhead she doesn't reconigze pick up the abandon lent roller and takes over the job. "You shouldn't be this tense when your gettting married," the redhead speaks up. "It should be one of the happiest milestones in your life."

Sophia fumes, waving her hand around and swatting at the poor girl. Jo feels a tiny splinter of guilt for the pain-stricken redhead as of Sophia's puny hands lays a hearty thump on one of her bony shoulders. "No one's doing anything right!" Sophia rages on, heels stomping against the floor. "I just can't wait until this nightmare is over!"

Jo nearly gasps, but clutches her hand over her mouth at the last minute. she bend downs and inches her hand toward her boot; the edge of her phone dangles on the tips of her fingers. _Smile for the camera, Bridezilla, _Jo thinks, phone tilted just right to capture the perfect image of Sophia red-faced and wide-eyed. The spying girl wonders how a person can be practically foaming at the mouth but still have there perfect and make-up unharmed.

The skinny redhead is now standing straight, arms crossed, and looking quite annoyed. "Why put this poor guy through so much is you don't even want to marry him?" she asks, hands going up into the air. "This is absolutely pointless!" Jo turns up the volume and tries to sneak her phone closer.

"_Money!_" The muderous yell seems to echo. Jo glances back briefly at the main wedding area, trying to figure how no one could be hearing this. "_His _family _is loaded! Why can't you get that through that thick skull of yours?_" Sophia rears a hand back, the redhead flinches, bringing up her tooth-pick arms to cover her face, and Jo fears for a split second that the crazy bride-to-be's going to deliever a hard punch. But instead, she just continues to screech and tromp around the room. "And _where _are my lilies? I wanted my white lilies five minutes ago and do you _see _any white lilies? Because I don't!"

Jo smirks. Stopping and saving the video, she silently slips away from the building and continues toward where Teddy was worriedly talking to a steaming Ivy. "Hey," she greets casually. "What'd I miss?"

Ivy gives her a friendly look-or as friendly as it can when being on the brink of furious-and presses her lips together. "I'm about t tear that pretty little head off that Barbie doll body," she growls, staring well past Jo and where Sophia is still fuming at. "And that cutesy little family of hers isn't helping."

Both Jo and Teddy turn to look at the big pastel blur taking up most of the seating space on one side of isle. Squinting, the brunette takes notice of three tiny head with small pigtails poking out of the sides. They all seem to be wearing matching pink dresses, sitting next to their parents. the mother wears a blinding white dress and a classy bun in her hair, her husband wearing a pink and white tie with slicked back hair.

"Lovely group," Jo spits sarcastically, swiveling back to Teddy and Ivy. "Where's Amy and Bob?" She hasn't seen them at all. Not even seven year-old Charlie or little Jenny.

Teddy nudges her arm. "Over there," she supplies. "Mom's talking to the preacher. Dad just looks lost." The blond's right. Amy is talking to a bald man with a huge belly while holding onto a little girl's hand. Bob stands awkward next her, balancing a small five year-old girl against his hip.

Jo doesn't skim over the fact that Charlies hates the bows tied to the end of her ponytail, and how Jenny squirms in her adorable yellow sundress. The brunette had always liked Jenny, the newest Duncan having dark tresses in contrast to her mother and father. Much like Gabe with his spiky raven hair.

"Jenny looks too much like Gabe, it's freaky," Jo thinks aloud, not needing to look to know that Teddy nods along in agreement next to her.

"How they have dark hair is still a mystery," Teddy says vaguely.

Jo stops and seems to take a momentary pause. "How did I eve get an invitation?" she asks with her eyes narrowed and expression puzzeled.

Teddy shrugs and twirls a bracelet around her wrist. "I just slipped Dad's under your door," the blond explains, as if was no big deal. "Did you really think Spohia was just going to invite you? Even if you were a friend-scratch that-_best _friend to Gabe?"

Ivy grips her hips and does a full inspection of the ceremony. "You're going to have to hide somewhere," she tells the brunette. "It's not like you can just sit anywhere out in the open. That witch will have the security on you in a second."

Jo curses and feels panic sweep through but also scolds herself for her own stupidity in the choice of coming at all. "Crap," she mutters and looks everywhere, eyes darting from place to place. "You're right." Her hair flies as she looks to Teddy. "This is another great example of why I shouldn't have come in the first place."

Teddy presses her lips together and points to the end of the curtain wall. "There's a little bench behind the curtains. Go hide there. Mom sits on that end. Dad and the girls sit on the other. Tap mom's shoulder when your in place."

Music starts and her boots take off, scrambling to sit on the slick marble. Jo wrinkles her nose as she listens to the music; something she wouldn't have expected to hear at a wedding. Peeking through a tiny hole in the lush fabric, she scans Gabe's face.

He doesn't look too thrilled to be there. His body stands stiff, hands messing with his tie as the death march plays. Spencer and Emmett stand tall and frozen, resembling irritated statues. PJ looks off the side, Jo following his gaze to a pretty lady with raven hair and nice olive skin. Her lap contains a cute little boy no older than two or three with PJ's skin tone and the girl's lovely hair color.

Skylar.

The brunette smiles and looks back on the moment where Teddy and herself were sitting in Teddy and Spencer's shared Suburban style home, squealing about PJ's engagment. That had been a few weeks after the blond's own wedding.

Sudden gasps and audible head turns jerk Jo back into reality. She turns herself and catches sight of Sophia standing, her hand nearly shaking and clutching a bouquet of yellow roses. Oh God. Jo rolls her eyes-she can just picture what kind of trantrum happened over that.

A woman wearing dainty gloves and a spring green dress has her hands together, holding them to her chest and tearing up as she watches her daughter link arms with her father and start toward the preacher. Jo arches an eyebrow at how they haven't waited for Charlie to finish with her flower duty, and by the cross look on Amy's face, she notices too. Bob has a hand on his face and another on his wife's shoulder to keep her seated.

Envy boils in her veins. She hates to admit it, but she knew she could never float and beam like how Sophia is doing right then, shooting fake smiles in every direction.

Carefully, Jo speeds out a hand and presses a finger to Amy's shoulder. She jumps and scans the people around. "Amy," Jo hisses as lowly as possible.

"Jo?" Amy whispers in shock. "I didn't know you got an invitation."

The brunette shrugs. "I didn't," she admits shamelessly. "But I'm not going to let Stupid marry that witch."

Amy snickers before turning around. "I knew you loved him."

Jo feels a patch of heat crawl up her neck and settle onto her cheeks. The death march has stopped and everyone has their eyes on Gabe and Sophia. The preacher begins to speak and it hits Jo hard that she has no idea what she's going to do. She's never been when being under a lot of pressure, so what made her think she could stand up in front a hundred or less people and blurt out her true feelings for a guy she's been chasing for years? A guy getting married no less?

"...Speak now or forever hold your peace!" Jo nearly falls off her see with her haste of manuvering from behind the curtain.

More gasps. Teddy and Ivy look at her with encouraging faces and beaming smiles. Spencer and Emmett look at her with immense relief. PJ runs his hands through his hair. Charlie smiles but still messes with her ribbons. Amy and Bob look at each other and then at her.

Jo doesn't focus on that. She doesn't focus on the horrified looks the pastel creeps gaze at her with. She ignores the heated daggers thrown her way by Sophia as she stomps her foot and looks ready to scream.

Instead, she looks at Gabe. His face holds no difference, but his eyes flicker back and forth, trying to piece together. His hands grip each other in front of him, turning white. "Jo?" he manages to ask, finally turning into the shocked face she was expecting.

"Did you really think I was going to let you marry _her_?" Jo asks with a smirk. She gestures her arms around her. "Look around, Stupid." The brunette takes a quick pause to shake her head at his old nickname. "No one you know here is happy. Do you know how many times Ivy was going to kill her? How many tantrums she's thrown?" Jo steps closer will every word, bending down and getting her phone. "She hates you family. And I know for a fact that you had no say in this entire thing. For one: you hate pastel colors. And two: you hate being called Gabriel." Gabe winces at the sound of his full name. "Do you even know the _real _reason she's even marrying you. I bet she has done a single nice thing for you since you two even got together!"

They're standing face to face now. Inches away from each other. Gabe reaches out to touch her arm, but Jo just shakes her head and thrusts her phone into his hand. She turns and walks through the curtain and out of the green house. Everything is oddly silently and her stomach has twisted itself into jumbled knots.

_I can't believe I did that, I can't believe I did that..._

The words repeat on and on as she slips into the warmly lit room. Jo sighs and spins, taking in the fancy hotel and wonders how she ever came to doing this.

"Jo!"

The brunette freezes in her tracks. The world stops as his footfalls come closer. "Stop." She turns when Gabe speaks to her again. She feels dizzy once his hand touches her arm and sparks fly. His tie is hanging loosely around his neck, just barely slipping off. The phones weighs like air as he slips it into her hand. "I saw everything."

Jo presses her lips together. She doesn't know what she expected; Gabe never cries-is rarely even sad. But he this time he's disappointed. Let down, maybe. Almsot absentmindedly, the brunnete runs a hand down his arm in a way of comfort. The taller of the two smiles and leans his forehead against hers.

"So what do we do now?" Gabe asks, whispering as if sharing a special secret. They're so close, Jo feels his peppermint beath fan her cheeks. She gets on the tips of her boots, boosting herself up to his lips.

"Kiss me."

* * *

"You may kiss the bride!"

Cheers, squeals, whoops, hollers, and reapeated claps of excitment. Jo knows they're coming as soon as Gabe lifts her veil. Their lips meet and right on cue, everyone erupts.

The moment's nothing big or esclusive. Just a happy couple in the park under a big oak tree, family members and close friends watching the happiest moment of her life. Jo doesn't feel any different. All she's wear is sleeveless gown with a slightly puffy skirt. Nothing like Sophia's awful cupcake choas from two years ago.

Gabe is different too. He doesn't like to dress fancy. So a he wears is a white dress shirt and some black skater jeans. Perfect.

They didn't need to go all out. They had enough drama at another wedding to cover a lifetime.

Jo pulls aways and giggles, leaning her forehead on his. He smiles down at her, still being taller. "What?" he asks, his question standing out loud and clear from all the noise.

"Everything," Jo says with a sigh. "Everything is perfect." The brunette peels herself away from him long enough to look at everyone. A nine year-old Charlie squeals along with her seven year-old sister as they spin in circles with PJ and Skylar's son, Alex.

Teddy and Ivy hug each other and smile, Spencer standing next to them. Amy and Bob smile, as happy as ever. Her mom sits next to Amy. She beams at her daughter like she's the best thing in the world, tears streaming and dripping onto her dress pants.

Jo has no time to smile back as Gabe pulls her back into another breath-taking kiss. When they pull away, he kisses her cheek ad grins against her skin.

"I'm so glad you were around when they said speak now."

* * *

**How was that? It was diffinately longer than I planned for it to be, but hey, more for you guys to read, right?**

**I didn't put the lyrics in it because I wanted there to be more story than there was lyrics. And I know that with the song, that it wasn't split into years, but I thought that it would make for a better (and sweeter) ending moment when done like this.**

**And with that said, I have some story news. I will be coming out with a Victorious one-shot called 'Hero', But I don't know when. And also coming out with another Kickin' It one-shot. It will be JACE with briefly mentioned KICK and MILLIE. Then when those are done, I might (and by might, I mean probably) come out with a Bree/Chase Lab Rats one-shot because they have some sort of thing going on and I need to write about it. **

**Those of you Forbidden Love readers reading this, the next chapter should be out soon, like maybe a week or less. **

**Important Author Info: Leaving on vacation, will have to share a computer, so writing speed is unpredictable. **

**So please a review and tell me what you think. :)**


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